


Why Am I Like This

by PhoebeDillard



Category: Riverdale (TV 2017)
Genre: Cute, F/M, Jughead Jones fic
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-11-29
Updated: 2017-12-05
Packaged: 2019-02-08 09:58:10
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 5
Words: 8,980
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/12862122
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/PhoebeDillard/pseuds/PhoebeDillard
Summary: When Jughead leaves Pop's Diner in rush one night, he accidently leaves his laptop in the booth he, his friends, and (Y/N) were sitting in. Much to (Y/N)'s dismay, Veronica and Kevin begin to snoop around in his computer. They find a document that Jughead wrote about a girl he's in love with, the problem is, he never uses her name.This is a story that takes place the week of homecoming, a week that was spent trying to figure out who Jughead's mystery girl was.





	1. Dining and Snooping

For the record, I’m not normally the type of person to go snooping around in other people’s things. But alongside all the secrets that were unveiled in the wake of Jason Blossom’s murder, was the news that my longtime partner in crime/ friend I’ve had a crush on since the beginning of time Jughead Jones, was in love. And it all started one evening when I walked into Pop’s diner.

“Look who finally decided to grace us with her presence,” Kevin announced loudly as I approached the booth my friends were sitting at.

I rolled my eyes and gestured for Veronica to scoot over so I could sit down. Kevin was pressed up against the window with me and Veronica next to him while Archie and Jughead sat across from us.

“I’m sorry but you know that cross country has its state competition in a month. I gotta run my extra 6 miles a day to build endurance,” I once again explained. I waved over a waitress and ordered a serving fries while Archie and Kevin mocked me. Jughead sat at his computer typing away not once looking up from his screen.

Veronica leaned forward and lowered her voice. “Speaking of cross country, did I see you speaking with Matthew Jackson this morning during your before school practice.” This received a chorus of long, drawn out oooohs from Archie and Kevin.

Jughead stopped typing and looked up from his computer, suddenly very interested in our conversation. A piece of raven black hair fell in front of his crystal blue eyes. Veronica leaned back into her seat pleased with herself.

“What did he want?” Archie asked taking a sip of his milkshake.

I twiddled with my thumbs and rested my arms across the table in front of me. “Well,” I began giving Veronica a half-hearted glare. “He, -we talked for a while you know about the upcoming competition and then he asked me if I going to the homecoming dance next week.”

“(Y/N) you lucky little bitch. Are you telling me that you got a date with one of the hottest boys in school?” Kevin said in disbelief, his voice rising an octave every syllable.

That’s when Jughead stood up and started climbing out of the booth, backpack in hand. “I’m gonna head out guys. See ya in school tomorrow,” he said as he walked off, not sparing us a glance. My eyes followed his retreating figure until he was out of sight.

I tore my gaze away from his now invisible silhouette and replied to Kevin’s previous statement. “Not exactly,” I trailed off. “Yes he did ask me to go with him but, I turned him down.” I stood up and moved to the other side of the booth, sitting next to Archie so we weren’t so cramped.

“Why? He’s sweet, funny, and very easy on the eyes (Y/N). You could do a whole lot worse than him,” Veronica said with curiosity.

“I know but dances aren’t really my thing and I’d only go if I got asked by the only guy I want to be with which isn’t going to happen. So that’s that. Plus, he’s not really my type” I answered shrugging my shoulders.

“You gonna tell us who this boy you like is?” Veronica asked.

I shook my head no. The waitress came out with my basket of fries and sat them in front of me. I thanked her and ate one while smacking Archie’s hand away. “Back off ginger I just ran 6 miles let me eat.”

We sat and talked about random things until Archie interrupted me mid-sentence by tapping on my shoulder. “Hey (Y/N), is that Jughead’s computer?”

I looked where his eyes were trained and saw a familiar black laptop decorated with various stickers laying on the seat of the booth. “It took you that long to see it? God Jughead’s been gone for like 20 minutes he’s probably worried sick about that thing.” I spoke in disbelief.

Archie lifted the laptop up and sat it on the table. “Relax (Y/N) I text him that we have it and give it to him when I get home tonight,” he dismissed whipping his phone out of his pocket.

While Archie texted Jughead, Kevin reached across the table and snatched the laptop. “Hey!” I protested as he opened it up. “Leave it alone that’s Jughead’s most prized possession don’t go snooping around.”

Kevin ignored me and kept looking at the screen. Veronica leaned over and peered over his shoulder. “He doesn’t even have a password on it so he can’t be hiding anything that serious,” she said not looking away from the screen.

“Open libraries, files,” Kevin murmured loud enough for us to hear. I heard the clicking of the mousepad while he continued the scroll.

Archie’s phone went off and he picked it up to see who it was. “Jughead says thank you I was worried sick and to not touch it in all caps,” he said in a monotonous voice reading the text message.

“Yea, yea okay,” Kevin conceded leaning backwards away from the laptop.

“Wait!” Veronica screeched. She put her fingers on the mousepad and double clicked something. “There’s a document titled ‘why am I like this I hate myself low-key’.

Archie and Kevin started laughing while I’ll protested. “Veronica you, -we can’t read that it’s an invasion of privacy.”

“To late,” she replied with a smile. Everyone at the table went silent, waiting to hear her, well, Jughead’s words. “Oh my god,” she whispered to herself, her eyes darting back and forth across the screen.

Kevin’s jaw dropped as he read the document alongside her. “You have to read this,” he stated turning the laptop around so it faced us. Archie pulled it forward and started reading.

After seeing Kevin and Veronica’s reactions, my curiosity got the best of me so I started reading. And let me tell you, I’ve never read something so sweet that could break my heart this much.

_I’ve never been the type to fall in love. Hell, I never thought I would but here I am cursing at myself for letting this happen._

_Being a writer, it’s only given that I’ve read a lot of books as well. I’ve read many stories where a girl or a boy unwillingly falls in love with someone they shouldn’t. They always complain to themselves or their best friend about the whole situation because they don’t want to be in love._

_I’ve always laughed at the thought, the thought that a person couldn’t control who they fell in love with. It seemed totally taboo, the phrase ‘the heart wants what the heart wants’ was total bogus in my mind. That all changed recently._

_It took me a long time to realize that what I felt for this one girl was love and now that I know that it is, I’ve been trying like all hell to stop it. But I can’t which is ironic because I’ve made fun of plenty fictional characters who are in the same situation as I am now._

_For months I’ve been waiting for these feelings to fade but they haven’t. If anything they’ve only been getting stronger, and it’s killing me on the inside knowing that nothing will ever happen between us. She’s so important to me and I can’t risk her walking out of my life because I decided to pursue things with her and it ended terribly._

_I want her to be happy more than anything else. Even if that means she’ll never be with me and end up marrying someone else. I’d cut a vein out of my heart and bleed out a necklace if it would make her happy. That’s a real sucky way to feel about someone you can’t be with._

_I couldn’t help but fall in love with her and though the whole situation sucks ass to say the least, I regret nothing. The real problem is, I don’t know how much longer I can stop pretending what we have is a never ending thing._

_Why am I like? I’ve had enough heartbreak for one lifetime. Give me a break._

_Please._

My fingers trembled slightly as I closed the tab and turned off the computer. I closed it and handed it to Archie who put it in his backpack.

“Who do you think he’s talking about?” Kevin asked after a moment of silence.

“I have absolutely no idea, which is sad. I’ve been Jughead’s best friend since we were 8 years old. I always thought he’d tell me if he felt this way about someone,” Archie said in a quiet voice.

My mind was racing with images of every girl I’ve ever seen interact with Jughead. Though I felt like my heart was ripped to shreds, I wanted Jughead to be happy. Even if it wasn’t with me.

“Well we have to find out who he’s talking about,” Veronica said looking at all of us.

I nodded in agreement. “Jughead’s in love with a girl that he claims he can never be with. We need to find out who this girl is because for all we know she could be his soulmate. From the way he was writing about her I think the rewards outweigh the risks.”

Kevin and Archie nodded in agreement. I plopped another french fry into my mouth and stared out the window gazing out at the night sky.

“Alright then, that settles it. Kevin, text Betty. Tell her there’s another Riverdale mystery that needs to be solved,” Archie said. “And I know just where to start.”


	2. Studying and Lunch

When Archie found out that Jughead was in love, the first person who popped into his head was (Y/N) though he didn’t dare say that in front of the others. He wanted to make sure before he said anything. She and Jughead were as close as could be and had a type of chemistry that just didn’t fizzle out.

He was also suspicious of the fact that the minute (Y/N) started talking about the possibility of going to the homecoming dance with Matthew Jackson, Jughead left without any rhyme or reason. Coincidence? He thought not.

The stairs leading up to Archie and Jughead’s shared bedroom creaked under the weight of Archie’s footsteps. His dad was still downstairs watching TV, creating a nice background noise.

“Hey man,” Jughead acknowledged when Archie stepped into the room. Archie watched as Jughead flipped through flashcards whilst laying down on his makeshift bed.

Archie kicked off his shoes and sat down on his bed facing Jughead. “What are you studying for?” he asked when his eyes fell upon the flashcards in Jughead’s hands.

“Biology prefixes and suffixes,” was his answer. “I don’t understand why we even have to learn these things. Biology is a class for science not latin roots.”

Archie unzipped his backpack and took out Jughead’s laptop and placed it on the floor next to him, a plan being conjured up in his mind. “Want me to help you study? I need to learn those too.”

Jughead sat up and put his laptop in his lap. “Would you? That would be extremely helpful.” He opened it and started doing who knows what while handing Archie the flashcards.

“Yea no problem,” Archie replied grasping the cards. “I’ll read the prefix and suffix then you tell me the meaning. Okay?”

Jughead nodded absentmindedly only half paying attention, his mind focused on his computer. Perfect.

“Dia-,” Archie said then flipped the card over.

“Between,” Jughead answered without looking up the screen.

“Fuse-.”

“Pour.”

“Grat-.”

“Pleasing.”

“How long have you been in love with (Y/N)?”

“Four months,” Jughead replied without hesitation. His posture went rigid as his head whipped up to meet Archie’s eyes. “Shit.”

Archie let out a laugh and clapped his hands together. “I knew it!”

Jughead sighed and closed his laptop. “How did you find out?”

“Just a hunch,” Archie replied with a shrug of his shoulders.

It was silent for a moment until Jughead let out a gasp of blasphemy. “You went through my computer didn’t you!” he accused pointing a finger at Archie’s chest.

Archie nodded sheepishly. “Yea we did I’m sorry but you seriously need to put a password on that thing.”

Jughead shook his head in confusion and looked down at his feet. “Okay that explains how you knew I was in love but not anywhere in any document did I use a name. How did you-,” he stopped talking mid-sentence and looked back up at Archie. “Wait we? You said _we_ did. Please tell me you all didn’t read it.”

“Kevin and Veronica made us! They shoved the computer at (Y/N) and I and after seeing their reactions we couldn’t not read it Jughead. It’s not even that big of a deal none of them even know who you were writing about and I promise I won’t say anything,” Archie informed trying to put his friend at ease.

With a groan Jughead laid back down on his bed and rubbed his face with his hands. “Sure they don’t know now Archie, but our friends are nosy as hell, case and point. Plus Betty is a very good detective so it won’t be long until they all find out which will suck because (Y/N) definitely doesn’t feel the same way.”

“Jughead you don’t know that for sure,” Archie said in a soft voice.

“Alright then, tell me this then,” Jughead quipped looking over at Archie. “When you guys were reading that document, did (Y/N) seem upset at all? Did she storm out full of jealousy or cry because of a broken heart?”

Archie didn’t know what to say and after a moment of silence Jughead looked away.

“Exactly.”

 

 

That dead leaves from various trees crunched under my boots as I approached the lunch table my friends and I usually sat at outside. I wrapped my arms around myself and rubbed them against the thin fabric of my shirt trying to generate some heat.

“Hey there (Y/N) enjoying the weather?” Betty said with a laugh as I got within eye sight.

I took a seat next to Jughead and put my hands between my thighs trying to keep them warm. He gave me a smile which I returned, my heart rate speeding up slightly. I could feel heat rise to my cheeks but if anyone noticed my blushing they blamed it on the wind chill.

I looked away from Jughead and replied to Betty’s greeting. “Not particularly. I wore my one jacket this morning when I ran and it got all sweaty and gross. I didn’t think to bring another one because I didn’t think it would be this cold mid-day.”

“Aw sucks to be you,” Kevin said before taking a bite out of his sandwich.

I glared at him halfheartedly then turned towards Jughead. “Unzip your jacket,” I demanded.

He choked on whatever he was eating and started coughing violently. Archie gave him a look that I couldn’t quite decipher but I ignored it. After Jughead regained his composure he looked at me in confusion. “What?”

“I’m freezing cold and you’re a furnace Jughead I want your body heat,” I explained trying to sound nonchalant. He gave me one last weird look but did as I asked.

I scotched closer to him and reached my arms under his jacket and around his chest, hugging him tightly. Jughead wrapped his arms around me and rubbed my back soothingly. My head rested on his chest and I could hear the erratic beating of his heart through his sweater.

“Did you run here or something Jughead your heart is beating really fast,” I mumbled keeping my eyes closed, relishing the warmth.

Archie snorted and I opened one eye to look at him from across the table. “What’s so funny ginger?”

“Nothing, there’s just, uh, a girl just tripped over, uh, tripped over a stick. Yea a girl just tripped over a stick,” he stuttered looking interested in his food all of a sudden. I knew he was lying but I didn’t push it. I was really comfortable in Jughead’s arms.

Veronica cleared her throat. “Speaking of girls,” she said with a tone of mischief.

Jughead’s chest rumbled with a deep groan while the sound of Kevin, Archie, Veronica, and Betty’s laugh filled me ears. I sat up and removed myself from Jughead, missing his warmth almost immediately.

“C’mon can we please not talk about this,” Jughead begged twiddling his thumbs nervously. A faint blush appeared on his cheeks contrasting with his jet black hair and blue eyes. He looked handsome as hell but I kept quiet though I was screaming on the inside.

“Aw c’mon guys leave him be. He doesn’t want to talk about her alright,” Archie said before taking a bite of his granola bar.

“Wait are saying her as in, like, you know who she is?” Betty asked leaning forward to get a good look at Archie.

He stopped chewing and looked at Jughead with wide eyes. “You promised you wouldn’t say anything,” Jughead reminded Archie who nodded in response.

Archie shallowed his food. “Yes I know who she is but out of respect for my bro I’m not gonna give up any information.”

Betty raised an eyebrow. “I don’t get why you’re being so secretive about this Jughead. I mean we all get crushes you shouldn’t be ashamed to talk about it. Just tell us who she is we probably don’t even know her there’s hundreds of girls in Riverdale,” she said gesturing with her arms.

Jughead shook his no and crossed his arms, leaning against the table. “You know as well as I do that word travels fast around here. If I tell all of you the whole town will know by the end of week which is the problem. She can never find out I like her.”

“Okay well now I’m thinking that we do know her which is why you won’t tell us,” I piped up tilting my head to the side.

“Alright I’m gonna done talking about this guys. Okay? I fell in love with a girl who doesn’t like me back and she’ll never know because I’ll never tell her. I mean she has no reason to like me I’m a hot mess so I don’t blame her. The whole situation is almost as depressing as one of Archie’s songs,” Jughead grumbled then took a sip of his drink. “Hey, you should write a song about my love life Archie. Your songs are always depressing as hell and my love life is a dam Greek tragedy. Just your cup of tea.”

Despite the sardonic humor in his statement I let out a laugh causing everyone to look at me. “What? He’s funny okay,” I trailed off taking a sip from my water bottle.

“Archie you’re not gonna sing something depressing at the Homecoming dance are you? Cause we need something you know happy,” Betty asked. “It needs to be something people want to dance too we already have a band doing the slow songs.”

Kevin scoffed. “This gonna be interesting. I’ve never once heard Archie sing a peppy song.”

“Yea there’s a reason for that because I sing stuff that I write and what I write isn’t happy,” Archie said running a hand through his red hair.

“Why don’t you just do a cover of a song instead of writing one?” Veronica suggested.

“Yea! Hey Archie if you want I can help you pick out a song? I have a lot of happy dancing music in my running playlist. I’ll be at the gym after school running on the treadmill until like 5:30, 6:00. Your welcome to come keep me company and in exchange I’ll help you figure out your performance,” I offered with a smile.

Archie sighed in relief. “Really (Y/N)? That would be great thank you so much. Hey, why don’t we sing together?”

My eyes widened. “Seriously? You want me to perform with you?”

“If you want to then yea I think it would be fun to have a friend up there with me,” he shrugged. “What do you say?”

I grinned and clapped my hands together excitedly. “Oh this gonna be so fun Archie yea I’ll do it.”

Jughead turned his head towards me, a piece of hair falling into his face. “I didn’t know you were into that kind of stuff,” he said, his blue eyed boring into mine.

“Well there’s a first time for everything Jug. Plus what could go wrong?” I asked rhetorically.

I didn’t know it yet, but the Homecoming dance would forever change my relationship with Jughead. In a good or bad way you ask? Well you’ll just have to wait and see.


	3. Driving and Gaming

Jughead was starting to see the effects of Homecoming week all around Riverdale high. Banners were being hung up in hallways, girls were dressing up nicer trying to get last minute dates, and new relationships were getting formed every day.

It made Jughead sick to his stomach with longing. The whole feeling was new to him, he had never longed to be able to hold a girl’s hand in the hallway or be the reason a girl smiles filled with love. But things were different this year, for the first time he wanted to be able hold a girl’s hand in the hallway or make her smile filled with love.

Things were getting easier though, now that Archie knew of his un-denying affection for (Y/N) Jughead finally had someone to vent too. It was better than keeping it all bottled up or writing about it on his computer, he had learned his lesson.

Jughead stared out of the window as Archie drove them to school, taking the scenic route. Trees blurred by along with the occasional runner, not another car in sight. Out of nowhere, Archie started slowing down causing Jughead to lurch forward.

Archie pressed a button and the window next to Jughead’s face rolled down. The car continued to slow until they ended up traveling next to a familiar (Y/H/C) girl.

(Y/N)’s hair was plastered to her face with sweat but she still managed to look amazing. No one could rock running shorts and a pull over Nike jacket quite like she did. She was deep in thought and didn’t even notice that Jughead and Archie were driving alongside her.

Jughead cleared his throat. “Damn shawty you looking fine this morning. Wanna give me yo digits?” (Y/N) whipped her head around and smiled brightly when she saw her friends.

“Hey guys what’s up?” she said between labored breathes. (Y/N) grabbed onto the window next to Jughead to keep pace with the car.

“We’re heading school obviously. Where else would be going on a Tuesday at 7:45,” Archie deadpanned. (Y/N) rolled her eyes and let out a dry chuckle. “I just wanted to stop and ask if we were still on tonight,” Archie said.

She nodded her head. “Yea I’ll meet you around 7:00. Hey, any of ya’ll nerds got some water?”

Jughead reached down by his feet and grabbed a water bottle from the side pocket of his backpack. He stuck his hand out of the window and handed to (Y/N) who started drinking it thankfully. “Thanks Jug. What would I ever do without you?” she gasped out giving back the bottle

“You’d probably denigrate into a pile of dust,” he quipped with a charming smile.

(Y/N)’s cheeks splurged a tinge of pink but Jughead didn’t think anything of it. “How far are we from the school?” she asked.

Archie shrugged his shoulders. “2 and a half miles give or take.”

“Alright,” she replied backing away from the car. “I don’t want to make ya’ll late. I’ll try to meet you guys by Archie’s locker before I head to the showers during 1st period. See you in like 12 minutes.”

“Peace homie,” Archie waved before pressing the gas. Once they reached cruising speed, Jughead took a swig from his water bottle. Archie laughed.

“What,” Jughead asked suspiciously.

“You basically just kissed (Y/N) Jughead. How do you feel having finally kissed the girl of your dreams?”

Jughead sighed dramatically and went back to staring out the passenger side window. “Freaking fantastic Archie just great,” he mumbled.

“Honestly Jughead, you really need to just tell her. (Y/N) a babe dude and it’s not gonna be long until some other guy comes along and steals her heart. Don’t miss your chance.”

“You mean like Matthew Jackson?” Jughead spat.

“Oh did I not tell you? Yea that’s not happening. She turned him down,” Archie said whilst turning into the school parking lot.

Jughead sat up straight and looked at Archie in disbelief. “Really? Why?”

Archie chuckled at his friend’s enthusiasm. “She said that dances weren’t really her thing and that she’d only go if the guy she liked asked her. Plus he isn’t her type apparently.”

“The tragedy continues. First she doesn’t like me back and now she likes someone else.”

Archie groaned as he pulled into a parking spot. “You don’t know that for sure. For all we know the guy she likes could be you! Which is why you need to tell (Y/N) that you like her.”

“What if I tell her and she actually doesn’t like me back? Huh? She might not to even be friends after that.”

Archie cut the engine to his car and looked at his best friend. “I know you don’t want to hear me say this Jughead, but at this point I think that’s a risk you’re just gonna have to take.” And with that Archie exited his car.

 

 

“What the fuck?”

A deep throaty groan erupted from my mouth as I sat up straight rubbing my eyes dazedly. I opened my eyes and looked around noticing that I was not in my room and that Jughead was in the doorway staring at me with an expression I couldn’t quite decipher.

“Hey Jug what’s up,” I said with a yawn.

He walked into the room and sat his backpack down near the door. “I was just about to ask you the same question. Why are you and Archie taking a nap together?”

I looked down where I was sitting and saw Archie Andrews passed out next to me gripping his guitar loosely. The notebook we wrote our song notes in was under my right leg.

“Oh I guess we must’ve fallen asleep practicing,” I said looking back up at Jughead who I swear was getting more and more attractive every time I saw him.

His blue eyes that were usually a light blue were darker and his lips were pressed into a fine line. We started at each other for a moment in complete silence.

“You look mad. Why?” I asked standing up off of Archie’s bed.

Jughead crossed his arms. “I’m not mad.”

“Uh huh,” I replied with a raised eyebrow. “Whatever I’m not gonna push it but I guess I should get going. I don’t think Archie and I are gonna get much practice in today.”

Jughead sat down on his makeshift bed and looked up at me. “You can stay if you want. We have video games and junk food plus Archie is a really heavy sleeper. Trust me, he won’t wake up.”

I smiled at sat down to him, our shoulders touching. “Well how could I possibly say no to spending time with my favorite person in all of Riverdale.”

He stuck out his bottom lip giving me pouty face. “Not the whole world?”

I grabbed the X-box remotes and handed him one with a smirk. “You know Percy Jackson will always hold the key to my heart.”

Jughead chuckled and looked up at the TV setting up the game we were playing. “So he’s your type then?”

“What do you mean?” I asked glancing away from the game we were playing for a split second.

“Archie told me that you turned down Matthew Jackson because he wasn’t your type.”

“He did, did he? Well yes Matthew Jackson isn’t my type but I didn’t turn him down for that sole reason,” I replied.

Jughead nodded his head in my peripheral vision. “I know, he filled me in,” he said dryly. “What is your type anyway?”

“Wouldn’t you like to know,” I laughed bumping my shoulder against his playfully.

“(Y/N) you messed me up! But yes actually I would like know.”

“Well,” I trailed off. “Most guys I find attractive have really light colored eyes and long dark hair. Not like, man bun long, but longer than normal you know? He needs to have the same sense of humor that I do and be able to accept the fact that I would totally destroy him in a fight.”

“And the guy you like fits this description?”

A noise came out of the TV signaling the end of our match, which I had won. I dropped my controller in my lap and turned my head towards Jughead. We were sitting leg to leg, shoulder to shoulder. My skin tingled at the contact, making me want to shiver though I wasn’t cold.

He turned to look at me, his crystal blue eyes a mere 3 inches away. We were so close that I could see every freckle adorned on his face like constellations. My lips parted involuntarily as we continued to stare at each other in utter silence. Our breath mingled together while a faint pink tinge appeared on Jughead’s cheeks.

 

“Perfectly,” I whispered, answering his earlier question.

Neither of dare move an inch though I really wanted to. It was taking every ounce of will power I had to not shove Jughead against his bed and make out with him like a crazy hormonal teenager. Which is ironic because that’s pretty much exactly what I was.

Jughead reached a hand up, tantalizingly slow. My heart pounded in my chest, thumping like the erratic fire of a machine gun. His fingers gently brushed a piece of my (Y/H/C) hair behind my ear then cupped my cheek. I leaned into his touch not once breaking eye contact, enjoying the sensation of his thumb stroking my cheek.

His head started to move closer while his eyelids fluttered closed. Jughead’s hand gently pulled my face towards his and I gladly complied. I tilted my to the side and closed my eyes, anticipating the pressure of his soft lips against mine in a way that I knew would feel oh so good.

And at that very moment, right when Jughead and I were about to kiss, Archie awoke with a start and fell off of his bed. Jughead and I sprung apart with wide eyes and looked down at Archie who was laying on the floor in a heap of blankets.

“What the hell?” he mumbled in a rough voice. Archie opened his eyes looking quite disoriented, then sat up rubbing his head.

“Good morning sunshine,” I cooed trying to seem nonchalant.

Archie lifted his guitar that fell on the floor next to him and placed it on his bed. “Did I fall asleep practicing?”

“We did,” I corrected him while standing up. “I’m gonna head out. See you guys tomorrow.”

And on that I note I exited the room swiftly not once looking back.


	4. The Dance

When the bell rang for 2nd period, Jughead was already halfway out the door hoping to beat the main hallway traffic. He kept his head down trying to avoid a confrontation with other students while weaving his way through the crowd. Archie was going through his locker with Betty by his side when Jughead arrived at their usual meeting spot before 3rd.

“Hey you nervous about tonight man,” Jughead asked leaning against the locker next to Archie.

He closed his locker and looked over at his friend. “Normally I would be but since (Y/N)’s gonna up there up with me I’m not nervous one bit. She’s as solid as rock.”

“Damn straight ginger,” a voice said from behind them. Jughead whipped his head around only see (Y/N) standing a foot behind them. “Everyone in Riverdale is gonna be shook to their very core tonight I’m telling you.”

She and Archie high fived each other with a laugh, then started walking together to their next class with Jughead and Betty. Jughead walked in step next to (Y/N), their hands brushing together slightly with every step.

Jughead looked over at (Y/N) the same time she turned her head to look at him. They made eye contact for a split second and the only thing that ran through his mind was the almost kiss they had shared only three days before.

(Y/N) cheeks tinged pink so Jughead knew she was thinking about it too. She looked away and stared at the floor in front her feet going quiet. They had an unspoken agreement between them to not talk about it and Jughead was thankful for that because he honestly had no idea what it meant.

Was it a heat of the moment thing? Did (Y/N) actually want to kiss him or was she freaked out because he ‘sorta’ made a move? It was just easier for Jughead’s socially awkward self to not know the answer to these questions. So (Y/N) and he pretended it never happened.

“I’m just excited to see (Y/N) in a dress for once,” Archie admitted with a wink.

(Y/N) rolled her eyes. “Pervert.”

“Well personally, I am looking forward to seeing my dear friend Jughead Jones in clothes that aren’t from Hot Topic for once,” Betty giggled.

“You’re coming?” (Y/N) asked surprised looking up at Jughead.

Jughead smiled down at her and put a hand over his heart. “I wouldn’t miss it for the world.”

She giggled and gave him a side hug which he returned. Her head rested on Jughead’s shoulder and he hoped she couldn’t hear the increasing speed of his heart beat. “This is why you’re my favorite person in Riverdale,” she said. Archie gasped causing (Y/N) to pull away from his embrace. “Oh shut up ginger don’t act surprised.”

They all joked around together until they reached the end of the main hallway. Archie, Jughead, Betty, and (Y/N) all parted ways, going towards their next class with no idea what was about to happen later that night.

 

My black heels clicked against the weathered pavement as I walked up the steps into Riverdale High school for the second time that day. I twirled a piece of my (Y/H/C) hair around my finger as Betty and Archie talked logistics about the performance.

“I gave the band your notes and the sheet music and they said they’ll play backup for you. I heard them practicing earlier and it sounded great so I hope you guys brought your angelic voices to go along with it,” Betty said.

Archie and I nodded along as she continued to give out information. “They’re gonna play 1 or 2 songs then I’ll introduce you guys. That’s when you’ll play. You might as well hang out backstage until that happens because it won’t be more than 10 minutes.”

We reached the entrance of the school and walked in single file. My feet navigated the hallways to the gym by memory while Archie and Betty trailed behind me talking.

I felt exposed in the dress I was wearing. It wasn’t super short or revealing at all I was just used to wearing jeans and a long sleeved shirt most of time. I wore the one dress I owned which was a plain matte black. It was form fitted up top and flared out at my waist, ending a little bit above my knee.

I waited by the gym door for Archie and Betty to catch up so we could enter together. Betty did a great job handling to decorations if I do say so myself. She did a much better job than anyone else I knew could have.

The band was already playing a song when we entered so our pace quickened. Betty helped us weave in and around the groups of people so we could get backstage. I saw a familiar beanie poking up above the crowd near the drink station so when we passed it I grabbed the person’s hand and dragged him behind me.

“Woah what the-,” Jughead started but stopped when he realized it was me. “Oh hey (Y/N) nice seeing you here.”

I let go of his hand so he could walk beside me. “I almost didn’t recognize you Jug. Good thing you were wearing that hat,” I joked trying to keep a blush from rising to my cheeks. He looked devilishly handsome in his black suit, it made his eyes stand out in the best way.

He looked me up and down. “I could say the same to you (Y/N). I never thought I’d see you in a dress.”

I tried to hide my blush as we entered the dimly lit back stage area. Archie sat down on a chair and took his guitar out of its case while Betty stood on the steps leading up to the stage waiting for the band to finish their song.

I turned around and faced Jughead twiddling my thumbs nervously. “Do you think I look nice? I don’t normally dress up-,” I trailed off looking at my shoes. I couldn’t bring myself to look him in the eyes.

Jughead reached a hand out and placed it on my chin lifting my head up gently. My (Y/E/C) eyes met his blue ones, a genuine smile graced his lips. “You couldn’t look more perfect.”

The sound of applause broke me out of my trance. Jughead and I backed away from each other while I whipped my head around to see Betty walking onto the stage.

“You ready (Y/L/N)?” Archie asked standing up out of his chair.

I smiled at him and nodded my head. “As ready as I’ll ever be.” I started walking towards the stage when a hand reached out and grabbed my arm, halting my movement.

Jughead stood there with a simple smile, though there was a glint of something else in his eyes. “Good luck,” was all he said, not letting go of my arm causing tingles to shoot up it.

I took a step towards him and yanked his arm downwards. My lips pressed firmly against his cheek for a second. “Thanks Juggy though I don’t need it.” I backed away from him and laughed at his red face.

“Now for Riverdale High’s own Archie Andrews and (Y/F/N) (Y/L/N),” Betty’s voice announced through the speakers.

I followed Archie up onto the stage with a huge smile graced upon my lipstick clad lips. I waved to the crowd and took my position by a microphone to the right of Archie.

He looked over at me and mouthed ‘you ready’. I shook my head yes and turned back towards the audience. Archie stomped his foot 4 times then started strumming his guitar while the band chimed in with their instruments at the appropriate time.

Archie voice came in singing the first verse.

_I miss the taste of a sweeter life_

_I miss the conversation_

_I searching for a song tonight_

_I’m changing all of the stations_

After a few beats of the drum I took a deep breath and started singing the second verse.

_I like to think that we had it all_

_We drew a map to a better place_

_But on that road I took a fall_

_Oh baby, why did you run away?_

The tempo of the song started to speed up as we both sang the bridge.

_I was there for you in your darkest times_

_I was there for you in your darkest times_

I could see Jughead and Betty in the crowd smiling at us. Jughead gave me a thumbs up and I winked at him as Archie and I began to sing the chorus.

_But I wonder, where were you?_

_When I was at my worst_

_Down on my knees_

_And you said you had my back_

_So I wonder, where were you?_

_All the roads you took came back to me_

_So I'm following the map that leads to you_

_Ain't nothing I can do_

_The map that leads to you_

_Following, following, following to you_

_Ain't nothing I can do_

_The map that leads to you_

_Following, following, following_

The crowd was dancing and singing with us and I felt on top of the world. I eventually took my microphone off of its’ stand and moved around the stage, dancing and singing along with the crowd. Nothing could’ve wiped the grin off of my face at that very moment.

I won’t bore you with the details of the rest of the performance, because the important part is what happened directly after.

Towards the end of the song, I could make out Veronica, Betty, and Jughead near the back of the gym talking. Betty and Veronica were smiling and laughing while looking at Archie and I with an expression that made it seem like they knew the answers to every question in the universe.

And Jughead, well Jughead looked like someone had just ripped his heart out his own chest and stomped on it in front of him with sharp stilettoes.

The song ended and on the final note of Archie’s guitar, the crowd started clapping and cheering. It should’ve been a great moment but my eyes ignored all of the happy faces and focused on Jughead’s destroyed one.

He looked me dead in the eye with a face of utter desolation, shook his head in disbelief, then left the gym without another glance.


	5. The Confession

_I was there for you in your darkest times_

_I was there for you in your darkest times_

Jughead could see (Y/N)’s piercing (Y/E/C) eyes looking at him from the across the gym. He gave her a thumbs and a smile which lead to her giving him a wink. He laughed and watched as she became immersed in her performance, moving around the stage and dancing along with the crowd.

“She’s really good,” Jughead said to Betty.

She nodded her head in agreement. “Yea she is. Her and Archie have really good chemistry as well, I mean look at them. They never actually got to rehearse the performance part, just the music, and the move as a unit. I’m impressed.”

Jughead let her words sink in, an uncomfortable feeling developing in the pit of his stomach. He hadn’t noticed it before but (Y/N) and Archie did have great chemistry together. He thought back all the times they bantered back and forth without a moment’s hesitation.

“I’m thirsty, let’s go get a drink,” Betty said while grabbing Jughead’s arm. She dragged him towards the back of the gym where the drink station was, and Veronica Lodge.

“By the way Jughead, I forgot to ask you this earlier, but is the girl you like here?” Betty asked pouring herself a drink. Jughead nodded his head skeptically.

“Are you going to introduce us to her?” Veronica chimed in with a mischievous smile.

He let out a dry laugh. “We went over this at lunch last week, you already know her.”

“Oh yea-,” the girls both trailed off turning their attention back to their singing friends.

“They have really good chemistry,” Veronica said to no one in particular.

Betty gasped. “I just said that Ronnie! Jughead didn’t I just say that?” He nodded his head which lead to the girls busting out in a fit of giggles.

“You know that mystery guy (Y/N) likes? What if it’s Archie?” Veronica asked not taking her off of the singing pair.

“That would explain why she came to the dance even though she said that she’d only go if the guy she liked asked her,” Betty speculated.

Veronica started slapping Betty’s arm excitedly. “And Archie asked her to come to the dance with him to perform!”

“Huh,” Betty started with a slight laugh. “I never would’ve guessed. Now all that’s left is secret identity of Jughead’s lover.”

Jughead tried to hide the heart break he was feeling but he knew that he wasn’t doing a good job when Veronica looked at him in confusion. “Jughead? What’s wrong?”

He couldn’t bring himself to answer the question. His mind was racing a mile a minute trying to figure out how he hadn’t noticed it before. (Y/N) liking Archie explained a lot.

Archie and her had the same sense of humor and had a lot in common as they are athletes. Maybe the reason Archie insisted on Jughead telling (Y/N) that he like her was so that when he got turned down, Archie wouldn’t feel guilty about pursuing her.

The music stopped and Jughead was shaken from his reverie by the sound of roaring applause and cheering. He made eye contact with (Y/N) who was looking at him with an expression of concern. Jughead shook his head in disbelief than pivoted on his heels and exited the gym.

He didn’t think about where he was going but his feet brought him to the school’s entrance by memory. He pushed the door open and exited the hastily. From inside the school, Jughead couldn’t tell that it was raining outside but now that he stood out in the open that became apparently obvious.

With a groan, Jughead decided to wait until it died out a little so he leaned against the school’s brick wall that was under a canopy and closed his eyes. Not even a minute later, the door next to him burst open and who should appear but (Y/N).

Her hair whipped around as she moved her head back and forth frantically, looking around for something. Her posture was rigid but it softened when her gaze fell upon Jughead.

She let out a sigh of relief. “Oh thank god Jughead there you are. What the hell happened are you okay?” (Y/N) wrapped her arms around her herself shivering slightly from the cold weather.

“I’m fine,” he replied shortly.

Her face fell. “Jughead,” she said softly walking closer to him. “I know you and you’re clearly upset so just tell what’s wrong.”

Jughead pushed himself off of the wall and paced around the near vicinity. “You know what yea I’m not okay!” he burst out. “Everything in my life seems to be falling apart at the seams and the few good things that are left-,” he trailed off and looked (Y/N) in the eyes. “The universe seems to have some type of personal vendetta against me and I’m getting tired of fighting against the current. I just- I can’t do it anymore.”

(Y/N)’s face morphed into one of confusion. “Can’t do what anymore Jughead?”

“I can’t believe I’m about to ask this,” he grumbled under his breath. “(Y/N), how long have you like Archie?”

She sputtered out her reply. “What? I don’t like Archie, why would you even think that?” she asked shaking her head. “Wait is that what this is all about? Are you jealous?”

Well there’s no use in denying it anymore. “Yes okay? Yes I’m jealous and I don’t really know why I just am,” Jughead admitted.

“But why Jughead? Aren’t you in love with some mystery girl? I just don’t get why you’re jealous in the first place I mean Archie and I are just friends, like you and me for that matter.”

“You can’t seriously be that dense (Y/N). Can you? I thought you’d realize by now that I think of us as more than just friends.”

She looked at me with wide eyes. “But what about that gi-,”

“For Christ’s sake (Y/N), you’re the girl! The girl I love is you,” Jughead all but yelled in frustration.

The door to the school opened and out came Veronica, Betty, and Archie. They must’ve felt the tension because they stood in the doorway not moving a muscle. (Y/N) looked away from them and back towards Jughead.

“How long?” she asked in a shaky voice.

Jughead shrugged his shoulders. “I don’t know (Y/N). I don’t when I fell in love with you. I can’t point to a day or a week and say ‘here it is, this is when it happened’. I just can’t. It feels like it has always been in me and I finally found out who it was for.”

(Y/N) didn’t say a word, she stood in front of Jughead looking completely shocked. Veronica, Betty, and Archie still stood in the doorway with their mouths a gape.

Jughead started walking down the steps of the school, not caring that it was raining. He turned back around and looked at Archie. “Are you happy now? I told her,” he said bitterly then disappeared into the night.

                                                                                                                                             

 

Monday rolled around and I was starting to get worried. Jughead hadn’t been seen since Friday night after the dance and I had been dying to talk to him, only he wouldn’t answer his dam phone. And I was starting to get angry.

“That son of a bitch better be at school today or I’m gonna flip shit,” I ranted walking into the main hallway with Betty. “I skipped cross country practice to talk to him this morning so he better be here or there will be hell to pay.”

Veronica saw Betty and I and fell in step with us. “What are you going to do?” Betty asked sounding slightly nervous.

“I don’t even know I’ll figure it out in the moment,” I answered as we turned down another hallway.

The scene after the dance Friday played over and over in my head all weekend long. I imagined what I would say to Jughead the next time I saw him countless times but could never settle on what to say, or do.

“Don’t hurt him or anything okay? You read what he wrote. He said that he’s had enough heartbreak for a lifetime so if you’re gonna let him down do it easily okay,” Veronica said looking over at me.

I looked at her confused. “How said I was going to turn him down?” I asked.

“Oh my god Jughead is the guy you like!” Betty squealed. “Wow it’s like I’m living in soap opera.”

“Oh shut up.” I rolled my eyes with a smile. “You’ve been hanging out with Kevin too much you’re starting to sound just like him.”

Veronica pulled my arm. “Look!” she whispered in my ear. “There he is.” She pointed over towards Archie’s locker where he and Jughead were talking. Jughead’s back was facing us so I couldn’t see his face.

I speed up my pace and weaved through the hordes of students trying to get to Archie’s locker. “It’s about to go down girl,” I heard Veronica say to Betty from behind me. “This is so exciting.”

My heart was thumping in my chest so hard I swear I could hear it. I watched as Archie made eye contact with me and tapped Jughead on the shoulder, pointing at me as I stood behind him.

Jughead turned around and looked like a deer caught in head lights when he saw me. “(Y/N) can we please not talk about this now?” he pleaded.

I shook my head. “Well we should’ve talked about this Friday night but you just had to run off so yea we’re gonna talk about his now,” I started putting my hands on my hips. “What the hell is your problem Jones? You drop a bomb shell like that then ghost out on me for 3 days? I was worried sick, there’s murderer on the loose in this town for god’s sake.”

“You yelling at me isn’t going make things better (Y/N). I think it would just be easier if we didn’t see each other for a while. Okay? I’ll be able to get over you faster that way,” Jughead said mumbling the last part.

I reached my hands up and shoved Jughead against the lockers. He raised his hands up defensively looking down at me in shock.

“Oh shit,” Archie mumbled next to me as he backed away.

“(Y/N),” Jughead said started sounding nervous.

“Shut the hell up,” I grumbled wrapping my arms around his neck. I pulled Jughead closer to me and kissed him. It didn’t take long for him to get over the shock and kiss me back.

He grasped my waist and pulled me closer to him until there was no space between us. Our lips molded together, pressing harder and harder against each other. The smooth texture of his lips against mine made me want to kiss him deeper. All the months of pent up sexual tension was released at once like water from a dam.

Eagerly my hands threw his hat onto the floor and rummaged through his hair. Jughead’s hands wondered all over my back, down to my hips, then up to my shoulder blades. Once they returned to my waist, he squeezes me even closer to him with his fingers making me let out a deep lustful moan.

“For fucks sake guys we’re in the middle of the dam hallway,” Veronica said with a laugh.

I felt Jughead smile against my lips causing me to laugh as well. We pulled apart and looked at each other for a moment until I embraced him in a hug.

“I love you too Jughead,”


End file.
